The WASD Series: Women are significant players in the Chinese e-sports market
5 min read
- China is one of the world’s top markets for e-sports; most netizens spend a significant amount of time on mobile game
- The majority of the Chinese e-sports industry is dominated by the growing engagement in streaming services and dedicated fandoms rather than competitive players
- Women tend to make significantly more revenue in the field than men, due to large followers in streaming and broadcasting
Being one of the world’s largest internet populations, gaming was previously viewed with extreme disdain by the Chinese government. Yet over the years, e-sports players and fans have grown to a population of almost 200 million in the Chinese digital sphere. Additionally, there is usually a direct relationship between the overall popularity of e-sports and the percentage of women likely to engage in it. With increasing success in male professional gaming competitions for games like League of Legends, DOTA 2, and Overwatch, e-sports has become largely socially acceptable in China. On that note, more women are increasingly compelled to engage in e-sports professionally and see it as a potential career route. However, for many females who do participate in e-sports, many of them end up streaming and broadcasting rather than becoming professional players. For women — especially in China’s largely digitally-engaged world— it is easier to earn more profit under less stress as streamers. Women e-sports competitions tend to be viewed with less professionalism than male competitive teams, and often occur more randomly throughout the year instead of a standard and strict schedule.
Professional video gaming is, in itself, already a prospering industry that’s expected to be worth billions. Within an industry that is traditionally geared towards male players, China might be one of the top countries for women in e-sports. Most of the time, women professional gamers tend to earn much less than their male competitors. Though the industry is already largely dominated by men, China’s e-sports market is especially skewed; it tends to allow women participants to often make more revenue in the field due to streaming and video broadcasting, where players can establish a more dedicated following of fans. Participating in mobile e-sports is already extremely popular in China—more so than in other markets—which automatically contributes to a larger female user base.
China’s strong concentration of mobile engagement, as well as the country’s exceptional male teams, continues to encourage more female gamers to participate. According to statistics provided by Newzoo, China is clearly a top contender in gender inequality among the e-sports industry. 30% of Chinese e-sports fans have been women in the last four years, and among those numbers, only half of those women have been actively engaging in e-sports. However, with a market value that is expected to reach 15 billion by the end of this year and 35 billion by the end of 2021, the e-sports market continuously attracts more female players. In China, the majority of netizens consume some sort of mobile games, and 50% of women under the age of 20 regularly engage in mobile gaming apps. Data from mobile researchers have shown that Chinese female netizens spend the majority of their time on MOBA, a popular e-sports genre, instead of on other apps. Nearly half of China’s esports revenue comes from mobile games. Among specifics, the game Arena of Valor was noted to be the most-watched and consumed e-sports game in 2018.
For many professional teams, streaming is the top source of revenue. For example, LLG—one of China’s top female esports teams— is comprised of six women are all highly accomplished in professional video gaming. Through video streaming, their large audience base allows the members of LLG to indulge in luxurious homes and designer bags. Yet in the midst of this, women also tend to be subject to online harassment and discrimination as they are viewed as less accomplished than male players. For passionate and serious gamers like those in LLG, women players hope to continuously prove others wrong while increasing the presence of e-sports in China and encouraging more women to participate.
Sources:
Huang, Zheping. “Rich Investors Are Making It Possible for China’s Female Gamers to Go pro-and They’re Crushing It.” Quartz, Quartz, 5 Sept. 2017, qz.com/1065878/rich-investors-are-making-it-possible-for-chinas-female-gamers-to-go-pro-and-theyre-crushing-it/.
Wu, Julianna. “China Might Be One of the Best Countries for Women in Esports.” South China Morning Post, 20 Sept. 2019, www.scmp.com/abacus/culture/article/3029254/china-might-be-one-best-countries-women-esports.
Article written by Emily Zhang of MDS.
The WASD Series is a new article series by MDS that explores the world of esports in a Chinese context. Esports, short for electronic sports, is a type of sport competition using video games. Popular esports games include League of Legends, CS:GO, and Overwatch. According to CNN, esports is a rapidly growing business in China and is now worth over 100 billion yuan ($14 million).
Check out MDS’s interview series, The Moxie Series, which shines a spotlight on innovative female entrepreneurs, creators, and trailblazers making waves in China.
Metric Design Studio (MDS) is an award-winning, independently owned integrated digital agency in Shanghai. We specialize in web design & development, graphic design, e-commerce management, and WeChat solutions.
Leave a comment